This past Sabbath afternoon as I came home the sky was dark and dreary. Rain was to be expected and rain it did. In fact, it stormed. I was reading on my bed with my cat Belle nearby. Her ears expressed concern at the sound of the thunder. I comforted her fears and continued to read. A little while later I noticed that Belle’s ears were no longer concerned; she was fast asleep and the room seemed visibly lighter than it had been before. I glanced out the window and indeed the mood was greatly changed. The sun was out and the blue sky was displayed around fluffy white clouds. Wow! What a change. Soon I found myself perusing the adjacent fields before settling under a tree to examine violets, watch the birds, ponder life and pray. The lavender of the lilacs, the green of the new leaves and the brightness of the blue sky all combined as a beautiful landscape set against the sound of the breeze and the serenade of the birds in the trees around me.
Isn’t it interesting how weather can dictate our behavior? Should the sky be stormy and thundering, we most likely will not do lawn work, clean the eaves or wash the car. We’re more likely to curl up with a cat on a bed or clean out the cupboards in the warm, dry and predictable indoors. Minus a tree falling on the house, those plans would be able to be accomplished with no hindrance by the storm. However, if the weather is bright, sunny and warm we are much more likely to tackle some landscaping or just sit and bask in the sun.
What is weather anyways? According to my Encarta encyclopedia “weather” can be described as “the state of the atmosphere.” Weather is certainly an external condition which we are all used to. But I think there is a valid comparison between the external weather and the internal weather of our hearts. What is the “state of the atmosphere” of your life? Are we like Tennessee a few weeks ago where one day was 80 degrees, the next 50 degrees and then it was stormy for a week straight? Or are we predictably pleasant like a stretch of summer in the Northeast?
What should the state of the atmosphere of our lives be?
“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you,” – Isaiah 26:3.
This world is going out of control. It can be a blinding wind and a blur of confusion. Like the weather, our lives: our minds and hearts can become so muddled and confused. But God’s desire for His people is to live in peace.
As I sat under that tree and thought and prayed, the simplicity of the Christian life came in to my mind.
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man,” Ecclesiastes 12:13b.
Trust God. Obey God. Be at peace. That is it. He will take care of His people. My mom experienced this this past week. She was nearly in an accident but God took care of her. He takes care of His people. We have nothing to fear if our faith is in Him. Our minds and our hearts can be as calm, clear and serene as a warm, sunny summer day. :-)
2 comments:
I was just pondering about the topic of peace this morning. I was looking up the root words in Isaiah 30:15 (an awesome verse, by the way) and then looking at all the other verses that had the same root-word for "quietness". There are SO many verses talking about the peace God wants to give us. It's really incredible! God is such an amazing God!
I really like how you connected our internal attitude with weather. Though, when dealing with literal weather and not internal weather, I must admit that storms and rain rarely keeps me inside. Not sure what that does to your theory but maybe I'm just a bit different ;)
Mmm, well yes, I do like to run around in the rain sometimes. But it does affect what we do though, either way.
You're a good different Christy :)
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